Michael Martinez’s letter may have been marked spam—Palace

MANILA, Philippines — The e-mail of figure skater Michael Christian Martinez’s mother that was sent to President Benigno Aquino III was probably marked spam, a Palace official said Tuesday.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma reiterated that they did not receive any letter from Martinez’s mother, supposedly asking the government to support the skater’s bid in the Winter Olympics.

“It was not received in the e-mail. One possibility offered was that it was placed in the spam folder. And by protocol, our staff does not retrieve e-mails marked spam because of security implications,” he said in Filipino during a press briefing.

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Coloma assured the public that they check the official e-mail account of their office every day and refer the letters to concerned agencies.

Nevertheless, the Secretary said they hope the outpouring of support for Martinez after he finished top 19 in the figure skating competition in Sochi will “generate enough momentum for him to qualify for the next Olympics.”

“That is why we said before that while he did not receive enough support in the past, he is now reaping tremendous support from all sectors. And the government is one with those giving support,” Coloma said.